Amazon’s latest acquisition? A cricket team in India!

The Indian Premier League is a professional Twenty20 cricket league contested in India every year during the months of April and May. A mammoth, money-spending and glamorous cricket venture frequented by the average citizen and celebrities alike, it is the most attended cricket league in the world. In its tenth season, the first 3 matches of the IPL 2017 saw 88.3 million impressions, a 40% jump from a last year.

The IPL can be likened to a localized version of the Super Bowl in the United States, a sports extravaganza which attracts considerable interest from advertisers. In terms of potential reach and frequency in engagements, it offers a quick build up in potential reach in a six-week period.

It is also a platform for talented, young and relatively unknown cricketers to showcase their talents on a global stage.

In India, you’re likely to hear that cricket is a religion, not merely a sport, which aptly indicates the level of emotion associated with the game.

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With over a billion eyes watching, how can advertisers take advantage?

Amazon India has done just that. With its first ever campaign tailor-made for the IPL, Amazon India has capitalized on the emotion behind this nationwide craze.

‘Sapno ki apni dukaan’

Amazon’s campaign, titled “Sapno ki apni dukaan” (roughly “Our store of dreams” in Hindi), conceptualized by Ogilvy and Mather, features a series of videos about the aspirations of a fictional cricket team from a fictional town called Chonkpur. The Chonkpur Cheetahs have talent and are hard working. And they want to participate in the next season of the IPL but lack access.

Introducing the Chonkpur Cheetahs!

Over a series of videos, we see Amazon India support them in providing access to vital things such as a kit, logo, song and equipment. A strong message: Amazon India doesn’t just sell things; Amazon India makes your dreams a reality.

Why it works

With the focus on storytelling and emotion, millions of Indians scattered across towns and villages can relate to the aspirations of the Chonkpur Cheetahs.

“T20 is not just the biggest celebration of Indian cricket, it’s also the biggest celebration of Indian dreams.”

Apart from forming an overall connection and tapping into an ideal overlap between emotion, aspiration and cricket, the Chonkpur Cheetahs ad campaign fulfills other objectives admirably.

Amazon is clearly targeting not just Tier 1 cities, but also expanding to Tier 2 and beyond regions as well, where further growth, hitherto untapped, is expected. No matter which corner of India you’re from, Amazon can deliver. That Parisian perfume could be yours, because with Amazon, Paris is just around the corner.

Additionally, in a period of six weeks, showcasing the same content repeatedly may fatigue viewers. Fresh content, as in this series, keeps your viewers coming back.

The Chonkpur Cheetahs have so far gathered over 20 million views, 1.5 lakh engagements and 14000 conversations across mediums.